World War II women highlighted at First Saturday

Tuesday

Mar 1, 2011 at 12:01 AMMar 1, 2011 at 1:19 AM

Guests will learn about women's roles at home and abroad at "Glamour Girls: The Portrayal of Women in World War II in Propaganda Posters" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Delaware Public Archives, Dover.

Guests will learn about women's roles at home and abroad at "Glamour Girls: The Portrayal of Women in World War II in Propaganda Posters" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Delaware Public Archives, Dover.

The United States and Great Britain had diverse ideas about what was glamorous and appropriate during wartime. Film history from both countries and images from Vogue and British Vogue Magazine provide evidence that these disparities appeared in more than one form of visual imagery. American images of women in propaganda posters were much more glamorous and drew upon Hollywood starlet iconography. British graphic artists eschewed the Hollywood style under the advisement of government officials and used what has been referred to as “natural beauty” in their posters.

Dr. Marguerite Hoyt will present the program, examining differences in the ways that graphic artists depicted women in propaganda posters, film and magazines and how each country borrowed from its own cinematic efforts to create a standard of beauty. All forms of media, posters and film, potentially guided women into constructing or reinforcing an identity, as well as enabling them to support the war effort.

Hoyt is an assistant professor of Women's Studies at Goucher College. She received her Ph.D. in history from The Johns Hopkins University in 2003. She published an article, "Sending Signals: Visions of Women in World War II Propaganda Posters" in Readings in Gendered Communication in 2004, and presented her research on women in Anglophone World War II propaganda posters at conferences across the country.

The program is free to the public. No reservations are required. For more information, call Tom Summers at 744-5047 or e-mail thomas.summers@state.de.us.